Devanagari
ब्रह्माननं क्षत्रभुजो महात्मा
विडूरुरङ्घ्रिश्रितकृष्णवर्ण: ।
नानाभिधाभीज्यगणोपपन्नो
द्रव्यात्मक: कर्म वितानयोग: ॥ ३७ ॥
Verse text
brahmānanaṁ kṣatra-bhujo mahātmā
viḍ ūrur aṅghri-śrita-kṛṣṇa-varṇaḥ
nānābhidhābhījya-gaṇopapanno
dravyātmakaḥ karma vitāna-yogaḥ
Synonyms
brahma
—
the brāhmaṇas
;
ānanam
—
the face
;
kṣatra
—
the kṣatriyas
;
bhujaḥ
—
the arms
;
mahātmā
—
the virāṭ-puruṣa
;
viṭ
—
the vaiśyas
;
ūruḥ
—
the thighs
;
aṅghri
—
śrita — under the protection of His feet
;
kṛṣṇa
—
varṇaḥ — the śūdras
;
nānā
—
various
;
abhidhā
—
by names
;
abhījya
—
gaṇa — the demigods
;
upapannaḥ
—
being overtaken
;
dravya
—
ātmakaḥ — with feasible goods
;
karma
—
activities
;
vitāna
—
yogaḥ — performances of sacrifice .
Translation
The virāṭ-puruṣa’s face is the brāhmaṇas, His arms are the kṣatriyas, His thighs are the vaiśyas, and the śūdras are under the protection of His feet. All the worshipable demigods are also overtaken by Him, and it is the duty of everyone to perform sacrifices with feasible goods to appease the Lord.
Translation (Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura)
Brāhmaṇas are his face. The kṣatriyas are his arms. The vaiśyas are his thighs and the śūdras are his feet. He is endowed with followers of the various devatās. The methods of sacrifice with ingredients, along with groups of the devatās with many names, are his duties.
Purport
Monotheism is practically suggested here. Offering sacrifices to many demigods under different names is mentioned in the Vedic literatures, but the suggestion made in this verse is that all those varieties of demigods are included in the form of the Supreme Personality of Godhead; they are only the parts and parcels of the original whole. Similarly, the divisions of the orders of human society, namely the
brāhmaṇas
(the intelligent class), the
kṣatriyas
(the administrators), the
vaiśyas
(the mercantile community) and the
śūdras
(the laborer class), are all included in the body of the Supreme. As such, sacrifice by every one of them in terms of pleasing the Supreme by feasible goods is recommended. Generally, the sacrifice is offered with clarified butter and grains, but with the progress of time, human society has produced varieties of goods by transforming materials supplied by God’s material nature. Human society, therefore,
must learn to offer sacrifices not only with clarified butter, but also with other manufactured goods in the propagation of the Lord’s glory, and that will bring about perfection in human society.
The intelligent class of men, or
brāhmaṇas,
may give direction for such sacrifices in consultation with the previous
ācāryas;
the administrators may give all facilities to perform such sacrifices; the
vaiśya
class or mercantile community, who produce such goods, may offer them for sacrifice; and the
śūdra
class may offer their manual labor for the successful termination of such sacrifice. Thus by the cooperation of all classes of human beings, the sacrifice recommended in this age, namely the sacrifice of congregational chanting of the holy name of the Lord, may be executed for the common welfare of all the people of the world.
Commentary (Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura)
Brahmā means brāhmaṇa. His arms are the kṣatriyas (kṣatraḥ). Vaiśyas (viṭ) are his thighs. Those who are black, śūdras, take shelter of his feet. Methods of sacrifice, with ingredients for oblations, endowed with groups of devatās with many names such as the Rudras and Vasus, are his prescribed duties.